We topped up with Diesel in Norseman which is 200 Km South of Kalgoorlie, as it gets fairly expensive across the Nullabor. I'd researched fuel locations and cost our last day in Kalgoorlie. From there we began our trip East through the Fraser Ranges and Balladonia. We stopped for the night at Baxter Rest Area which is 67 Km West of Caiguna. A fairly big day for us as just over 500 Km. The Rest site was large with lots of room for a bit of privacy. It had basic toilets and a dump point. It got fairly popular later in the day with other campers but still didn't feel too crowded.
Thursday we were up early and got a good start by 8:30. We topped up our fuel in Caiguna ($1.63/l) to see us through to Eucla or the South Australia Border. We then traveled through Cocklebiddy and Madura before filling up again at Eucla ($1.54/l). We crossed the Border in mid afternoon and continued about 75 Km East along the Bunda Cliffs. We stopped at Bunda Cliffs Lookout for the night as one of Sandra's wishes was to spend a night on the Cliffs underneath the stars. Not quite as good as we hoped as was a bit cloudy and we couldn't park too close to the cliffs. That being said there is a wonderful lookout there and we did get to see quite a few stars. Another big day for us of almost 500 Km and we were all tired by the time we hit the beds that night. This campground is very basic with no facilities.
I got up early Friday morning and walked down to the Lookout for Sunrise. Beautiful pink colours in the sky but was freezing with a temperature close to zero and strong winds. You can see from our photos after breakfast that it was still chilly!
We stopped at another lookout at Peg 111 some 40 Km East of where we stayed. Beautiful views along the Bunda Cliffs. One of our favorite lookouts along the Nullabor.
We continued East and passed through Nullabor before stopping at the "Head of the Bight" This is a privately owned property managed by an Aboriginal Trust. We had enjoyed our visit here the last trip but hadn't seen any whales which is what the area is know for. We certainly weren't left disappointed on this visit. The area is a breeding ground for Southern Right Whales and we would have seen some 30 Mothers and Calves. They just sort of floated along the cliffs very close to our view points. The Bunda Cliffs in the background are also incredible. Beautiful! We saw one white baby whale and another juvenile put on quite a display with breaches and fin slaps. We spent 2 hours memorized by these incredible creatures. This is a definite must see if you are a nature/whale lover!
We ended up camping overnight at a free camping area near the entrance to the park. There were no facilities but it also proved to be a popular spot with a dozen other caravans/campers joining us. This was a much easier travel day as was under 200 Km.
Saturday morning saw us up and away by 8:30 again as we had another fairly long travel day planned. We stopped in Penong to fill up with diesel for a more reasonable $1.19/l and had some lunch in a park. From there we decided to carry on to the end of the Nullabor. We passed through the Fruit Fly inspection at Ceduna before heading south towards Streaky Bay. Another long day of almost 400 Km.
We once again enjoyed our Nullabor adventure although it does make for some long travel days. Highlights for travellers are the numerous lookouts of the Bunda Cliffs East of the West/South Australia border, and the Whales at the Head of the Bight. As a side note we traveled into a North East Wind for most of our journey across the Nullabor. This made for a bit more expensive trip than necessary and required two hands on the wheel at all times!
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